Brad McCrimmon was selected 15th overall in what could now be considered the great draft: 1979. Selected in the same set as McCrimmon were names like Gartner, Bourque, Messier, Goulet, Hunter, Broten, and Lowe. And although McCrimmon wasn't as flashy as some of the above mentioned names, he proved to be a bluechip blueliner whose specialty was keeping his crease clear of traffic.

McCrimmon jumped straight from the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WCJHL into the Boston Bruins line-up in 1979. He lasted three seasons, until the Bruins netminder, Rogie Vachon, retired. McCrimmon was the necessary collateral used to secure Pete Peeters from the Philadelphia Flyers.

In Philly, McCrimmon continued his solid play, ending each season on the upside of the plus/minus scale. He remained in orange and black until the heavens brought a gift, spiriting him back to Western Canada to play for the Calgary Flames. McCrimmon figures that half the people in Alberta are from his home province of Saskatchewan, so the Flames were the equivalent of a homecoming.

In 1988, McCrimmon came in as the league's plus/minus leader with a +48 reading. He was also chosen as a second-team All-Star. The following season, 1989, brought the summit of his career as the Flames beat the Canadiens, in the Montreal Forum, to take the Stanley Cup.

After the glory of Calgary, McCrimmon continued to perform like a rock for the Detroit Red Wings, Hartford Whalers and finally, the Phoenix Coyotes where he retired from on-ice duty in 1996-97.

McCrimmon has since moved behind the bench as an assistant coach with the New York Islanders before heading back home to coach the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL.

REGULAR SEASON

PLAYOFFS

Season

Club

League

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

+/-

GP

G

A

TP

PIM

1974-75

Prince Albert Raiders

SJHL

38

4

22

26

1975-76

Prince Albert Raiders

SJHL

46

19

39

58

126

1976-77

Brandon Wheat Kings

WCJHL

72

18

66

84

96

15

3

10

13

16

1977-78

Brandon Wheat Kings

WCJHL

65

19

78

97

245

8

2

11

13

20

1977-78

Canada

WJC-A

6

0

2

2

4

1978-79

Brandon Wheat Kings

WHL

66

24

74

98

139

22

9

19

28

34

1978-79

Canada

WJC-A

5

1

2

3

2

1978-79

Brandon Wheat Kings

M-Cup

5

0

5

5

10

1979-80

Boston Bruins

NHL

72

5

11

16

94

-3

10

1

1

2

28

1980-81

Boston Bruins

NHL

78

11

18

29

148

+27

3

0

1

1

2

1981-82

Boston Bruins

NHL

78

1

8

9

83

+4

2

0

0

0

2

1982-83

Philadelphia Flyers

NHL

79

4

21

25

61

+24

3

0

0

0

4

1983-84

Philadelphia Flyers

NHL

71

0

24

24

76

+19

1

0

0

0

4

1984-85

Philadelphia Flyers

NHL

66

8

35

43

81

+52

11

2

1

3

15

1985-86

Philadelphia Flyers

NHL

80

13

43

56

85

+83

5

2

0

2

2

1986-87

Philadelphia Flyers

NHL

71

10

29

39

52

+45

26

3

5

8

30

1987-88

Calgary Flames

NHL

80

7

35

42

98

+48

9

2

3

5

22

1988-89

Calgary Flames

NHL

72

5

17

22

96

+43

22

0

3

3

30

1989-90

Calgary Flames

Fr-Tour

4

0

1

1

2

1989-90

Calgary Flames

NHL

79

4

15

19

78

+18

6

0

2

2

8

1990-91

Detroit Red Wings

NHL

64

0

13

13

81

+7

7

1

1

2

21

1991-92

Detroit Red Wings

NHL

79

7

22

29

118

+39

11

0

1

1

8

1992-93

Detroit Red Wings

NHL

60

1

14

15

71

+21

1993-94

Hartford Whalers

NHL

65

1

5

6

72

-7

1994-95

Hartford Whalers

NHL

33

0

1

1

42

+7

1995-96

Hartford Whalers

NHL

58

3

6

9

62

+15

1996-97

Phoenix Coyotes

NHL

37

1

5

6

18

+2

NHL Totals

1222

81

322

403

1416

116

11

18

29

176

WCJHL First All-Star Team (1978) WHL First All-Star Team (1979) Memorial Cup All-Star Team (1979) NHL Second All-Star Team (1988) NHL Plus/Minus Leader (1988)
Played in NHL All-Star Game (1988)